For the first time in our 30-year history, LEO Weekly is asking readers for financial help.
Since our first publication in 1990 LEO has been free to pick up and has relied on advertising to support operations.
Pre-pandemic, we were already running on a very lean budget. Since the pandemic, our operating budget has been decimated as our advertisers — primarily concert halls, theaters, events, bars, festivals, restaurants — have closed their doors, some permanently. Those who are still in business are operating at a drastically reduced capacity and are unable to afford advertising.
So far, we have not had to furlough any editorial staff, but our editorial budget has been cut by three-quarters and we are alternating between digital and print publication in order to reduce expenses.
If you believe in the power of a free press, and especially the value of an alt weekly paper, like LEO, please consider a donation of any amount to help us with our essential operating expenses: paying writers, printing the paper and distributing throughout all areas of Metro Louisville.
The work we do at LEO is significantly different than the work of any other media outlet in the area. Our core topics include those that the daily paper rarely touches, such as urban planning, race relations, labor and the environment. We offer a range of commentary, which, admittedly, skews left. We print op-eds that mainstream publications would not, such as from Black Lives Matter. We champion equality and provide a voice to the LGBTQ+ community. LEO is the authority on local music, theater and visual arts. We also publish news stories that are written differently (we’d like to say, more interestingly) than a newspaper would run. They include primary source stories (?rst-person) and stories told through alternative formats.
Louisville has at least six ways you can get your news, counting TV and radio.
We try to not be like any of them.
We try not to tell the same story.
We try to be more interesting and less predictable.
We always support the movement for justice.
And the hundreds of thousands of people who read us and click on our stories tell us we are doing something right.
Please help Louisville keep its alternative voice by making a donation of any amount. And thank you for reading and supporting Louisville’s Eccentric Observer.
